The Government Changes Kicking In On January 1

Newsroom

Posted on December 29, 2016

A raft of new laws and major changes will kick in from January 1.

Here’s a crib sheet on what you can expect…

BACKPACKER TAX

Working holidaymakers will have to pay 15 per cent tax from the first dollar they earn and forgo 65 per cent of any superannuation earned when they leave the country. They can no longer claim any tax-free threshold.

PENSIONS

The amount of assets (excluding the family home) someone can have before pensions are hit is increasing but pensions will cut out more quickly for those with assets exceeding $375,000 for homeowner couples, $450,000 for single non-homeowners, and $575,000 for non-homeowner couples.

EDUCATION

- New VET student loan program begins, replacing the old VET FEE-HELP scheme. Students can get loans up to $5000, $10,000 or $15,000 depending on costs for a limited range of vocational courses.

- "Feed-in tariffs" of 60 or 20 cents per kilowatt per paid to households for providing power generated by their solar panels into the electricity grid end as the state government's solar bonus wraps up.

PROPERTY

- The tax-free threshold for land tax payments rises from $482,000 to $549,000. The second bracket lifts from $2,947,000 to $3,357,000.

- An extra land tax surcharge of 0.75 per cent will come into effect for foreign residential real estate buyers.

VICTORIA

POLICE

- Police will now have the power to impound or crush a miniaturised motorbike, known as a monkey bike, if ridden on roads, footpaths or carparks. Offenders can be fined up to $3109.

- Increases to the maximum penalty for refusing a roadside drug test.

TRANSPORT

- Prices will jump for all public transport users while concession card holders will get a mere 90 cents wiped off their weekend tickets.

CHILD SAFETY

- All organisations working with children will need to meet new Child Safe Standards, with tougher screening for employees and stronger processes to help children at risk report suspected child abuse.

ELECTRICITY

- The state's five electricity distributers will lower tariffs by up to 3.31 per cent in some areas that could shave about $51 off an annual power bill. However some power companies will raise prices by up to 10 per cent.

PROPERTY

- People who do not live in the property they own will have their absentee land tax surcharges increased from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

AGRICULTURE

- All sheep and goats born on or after January 1 will have to be tagged with the National Livestock Identification System to help trace diseases to their source and quickly contain outbreaks.

QUEENSLAND

SMOKE ALARMS

- All homes will be fitted with interconnected, photoelectric smoke alarms under a 10-year rollout of changes recommended by a coroner following a fatal house fire that claimed 11 lives at Slacks Creek, south of Brisbane, in August 2011.

TRANSPORT

- Fuel sellers will be required to meet targets for the sale of ethanol-blended petrol and bio-based diesel.

- Migrant families arriving in SA on 457 visas will have to pay a public education contribution fees of $5100 for each primary school-aged student and $6100 for high school pupils.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

FIRST HOME BUYERS

- Grants for new homes up to a value of $750,000 will be lifted from $10,000 to $15,000 for one year

WELFARE

- Metropolitan income limits for eligibility to the Keystart loan scheme increased by $20,000 - a couple who would previously only be eligible if their combined income was below $95,000 could now earn $115,000 and a single person, $90,000.

NORTHERN TERRITORY

- Aquatic biosecurity powers will be strengthened and Aboriginal marine rangers will be able to become fisheries inspectors under changes to the Fisheries Act.